A multinational company with its North American Headquarters located in Blount County has received the 2024 Thomas B. Ballard Advanced Energy Leadership Award from the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC). This is given each year for exemplary leadership and success in championing, connecting and strengthening Tennessee’s advanced energy economy.

Head of Operations Chris Staackmann accepted the award on behalf of AESSEAL Inc. during the 11th annual TAEBC Opportunities in Energy event Tuesday in downtown Knoxville.

The award was presented by Solar Alliance CEO Brian Timmons and Jon Hamilton, U.S. general manager of Solar Alliance, which designed and installed the manufacturer’s 526-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system. The award highlighted how AESSEAL Inc. combined the power of solar with a large-scale battery storage system to help reach its NetZero sustainability goals.

Representing one of the first large-scale solar + storage installations for private industry in Tennessee, AESSEAL, in partnership with Knoxville-based Solar Alliance, constructed a state-of-the-art solar + energy storage system designed to enhance energy resilience and maximize clean energy use.

The solar + storage system provides backup power and increases the self-consumption of the solar energy generated onsite for the entire 50,000 square-foot AESSEAL facility located in the Stock Creek Development Center in Rockford. AESSEAL is a global industrial equipment supplier for the design and manufacture of mechanical seals and support systems.

“Thank you to TAEBC for this recognition, and to Solar Alliance for their outstanding work in designing and installing the solar array,” said AESSEAL’s Staackmann. “As a global manufacturing business, we recognize that a scope of our operations has consequences for the environment around us. That’s why we’re thrilled this project will be able to power our company’s operations with renewable energy, and position AESSEAL as a model for other manufacturers in the Tennessee Valley Authority region.”

The annual award named for Tom Ballard, chief alliance officer at PYA and editor-in-chief of Teknovation.biz, celebrates leadership, education, mentoring and advocacy in Tennessee’s advanced energy economy. Ballard was TAEBC’s first president and received the first award named for him in 2019.

Anne Brock is marketing coordinator for Solar Alliance, which works with manufacturers, utilities and small businesses on clean energy solutions. She can be reached at email or 865-221-8349